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Last month, regular contributor, Spheniscus and I debated the Hall of Fame merits of those who were on the Baseball Hall of Fame ballot.

Now that the Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2016 has announced their class has done the same. We were hopeful to do this prior to the announcement of the actual inductees, but life, as it often does simply got in the way!

Saying that, we felt it was worth our time to take a look at the 2016 Nominees and debate whether they should have gotten in (or not) and look to the future of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Here we are in the National Football League playoffs but for us that it means it is time to discuss the potential class of the 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Finalists have been announced, and along with regular contributor, Spheniscus, we will go back and forth with each candidate and openly debate as to which player would be a worthy Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.

Committee Chairman: Spheniscus, I know what I just said about Tony Boselli, but I feel so much different about Terrell Davis. Yes he had a short career, but it was so explosive and with all due respect to John Elway and the rest of the Denver Broncos, they don’t win back-to-back Super Bowls without him.

Here we are in the National Football League playoffs but for us that it means it is time to discuss the potential class of the 2017 Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Finalists have been announced, and along with regular contributor, Spheniscus, we will go back and forth with each candidate and openly debate as to which player would be a worthy Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.

Committee Chairman: Spheniscus, we return to that powerful Buccaneers defense with John Lynch, who doesn’t hurt his case by remaining in the public eye as a broadcaster. I know that shouldn’t matter, but do you think that helps to put him over the hump? I think he already has the Hall resume but when you see him weekly and his broadcasting peers constantly state that opinion, it can only accelerate his cause.

To get to the play in the Super Bowl you obviously have the necessary skill to first compete in the National Football League and the luck to be on a competitive team. Former Tight End Orson Mobley not only played in the Super Bowl for the Denver Broncos, he was at the big dance three times.

As a Professional Football player, Mobley caught 84 passes for 1,019 Yards with four Touchdowns and as a member of three AFC Championship Teams he had a pro career to be proud of, though it was he accomplished off of the field long after he retired from the gridiron that he is most proud of.

Mobley would be suspended in 1989 for drug use and would be out of the league the year after and would for years deal with substance abuse issues; a topic he has been open about in interviews, but more importantly with young athletes so that they do not fall into the same pitfalls that befell him when he was young man.

It was announced today that Tom Jackson will be receiving the Pete Rozelle Radio Television Award, which is awarded annually to the broadcaster who exemplified “for longtime exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football".

Tom Jackson was a fourteen year veteran in the National Football League, playing Linebacker for the Denver Broncos and is a member of their Ring of Fame. Following his career as a player, he joined ESPN as an analyst and has been with the company ever since.

Jackson won the Sports Emmy in 2009 and will receive this honor from the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 8 in Canton along with the other members of this year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Class.

The Pete Rozelle Radio Television Award has been awarded annually since 1989.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate Tom Jackson for receiving this honor.

Today it was announced by Wide Receiver, Brandon Lloyd, who last played with the San Francisco 49ers last season will retire.

The Kansas City native and product of the University of Illinois began his career with the 49ers who drafted him in the 4th Round of the 2003 Draft. Lloyd would be productive but was traded to the Washington Redskins where he would wind up in the doghouse of Head Coach Joe Gibbs, who rarely played him, especially in the 2007 where he would catch two passes.

Considered damaged goods by many, Lloyd would sign with the Bears and put up a good season to where he was signed the following year with the Denver Broncos in 2010 and it was at Mile High that he would have his best season in the NFL. Lloyd would catch 77 passes for an NFL leading 1,448 Yards and earn Pro Bowl and Second Team All Pro Selections. 2011 and 2012 would see him close to 1,000 Yards with Denver/St. Louis and New England respectively but injuries would catch up and he would sit out the 2013 season before trying a comeback with the 49ers last season, though that campaign would not result in numbers that he had posted before.

Overall, Brandon Lloyd finishes his career with 5,989 Yards Receiving with 36 Touchdowns. These may not be Canton numbers, but still indicative of an above average career in the NFL.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com wish Brandon Lloyd the best on his post career efforts.

Another day, another major retirement in the National Football League.

On his Twitter page, DeMarcus Ware has announced his retirement citing that his “long-term health and quality of life outweigh the spark and passion to play that I once had.” Ware is retiring at 34 Years old.

Drafted 11th overall in 2005 by the Dallas Cowboys out of Troy, the former two time All Sun Belt Selection won the starting Linebacker job in training camp and would make the Pro Bowl the following year, the first of nine trips. The following season, Ware would make the First Team All Pro honors, and would earn that accolade four of the next five years.

Ware would lead the NFL in Quarterback Sacks twice over his career and had eight seasons where he would have double digits in that category. He would later help the Denver Broncos win Super Bowl 50.

Ware retires from the NFL 8th overall in Sacks with 138.5. He played 178 Games professionally.

While we are not certain whether or not Ware will get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the first ballot, he is likely to get in eventually and will certainly warrant a high rank when he is eligible in 2022.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate DeMarcus Ware on a wonderful career and we wish him the best in his post-playing career.

The Denver Broncos first became a team that was first feared when their defense became the “Orange Crush” in the late 70’s. Many have credited linebacker, Randy Gradishar with being the heart and soul of that famed defense.

Gradishar was a tackling machine and won the 1978 Defensive Player of the Year. He consistently went to the Pro Bowl and was the leader of Denver’s “Orange Crush” defense. Gradishar was known for his exemplarity football instincts and his hallmark ability to block the goal line. Had he been more attention grabbing, perhaps he would have made a bigger name for himself outside of Colorado.

At present only John Elway is in the only representative in the Football Hall of Fame from their late 90’s back to back Super Bowls. It should not be forgotten that their defense had a lot to do with those wins and a big part of that Broncos “D’” was Steve Atwater.

Atwater played at Free Safety, but he was far from the traditional Safety. He was often used as an eight man in the defensive front and as such he racked up a large amount of tackles for a Safety. Atwater would become the captain of the Bronco’s defense and would help lead them to two Super Bowl wins.

Although Warren Sapp received most of the attention of the famed Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense, Strong Safety, John Lynch anchored the secondary and leveled anyone who actually could get past their linemen.

Very few players could be viewed as the total athletic package. Neil Smith may have been one of those rare exceptions as scouts felt with his skills there was little he couldn’t do on the football field. Those scouts would be right.

Neil Smith was a multi faceted Defensive End who was equally adept at stuffing the run as defending against the pass. His true gift may have been sacking the Quarterback as he led the NFL in that category in 1993. Smith was a six time Pro Bowler and though his skills were slightly diminished in the second half of his career, he was able to aid the Denver Broncos in their two consecutive Super Bowl wins in the late 90’s.

It is one thing to be highly touted out of college and rack up serious statistics in the National Football League. It is quite another to do that when you go undrafted. Rod Smith lit up the league when nobody saw it coming.